Klean Industries Inc., a Canadian Energy Solutions Company will collaborate with The Dow Chemical Company to recover energy, chemicals and oil from end-of-life waste plastics that would otherwise be sent to landfill. This supports Dow’s drive to improve the sustainability profile of plastic packaging, its plans to collaborate with Klean on the possibility of developing low impact recovery facilities across North America.

The two companies have extended a three year letter of intent which allows them to combine proprietary technologies, knowledge and resources to provide solutions for end-of-life mixed plastics. The recovery of waste plastics for their energy value provides an opportunity to reduce dependence on fossil fuels while recovering a valuable resource. Klean’s advanced thermal conversion technology, which has been developed and used commercially in Japan captures the inherent value in oil rich packaging plastics.

With millions of tons of end-of-life plastic currently being landfilled and the ability to recover approximately 950 liters of oil (depending on the plastics) from a ton of mixed plastic waste, Klean believes there is potential for many such facilities around the globe. In addition to mechanical recycling there is a need for complementary methods to reclaim value from used packaging and there is a tangible market opportunity to increase the sustainability of end-of-life plastic packaging.

Klean proprietary technologies have been in commercial operation for over 30 years and are able to process a wide variety of polymer waste such as plastics and tires and other post-industrial materials. Oil based waste streams such as end-of-life plastics are converted into high grade liquid fuels, syngas, electricity and nano-scale carbon black fillers that are compatible with customers’ existing end uses and product formulations, making these products simple to integrate into new or existing products throughout the supply chain. These products help companies achieve sustainability goals, while helping manage the high cost of non-renewable raw materials.